Bioactives are chemicals, chemical molecules and microbes found in certain plants and foods that have a biological effect on the body. Some may promote good health or aid in the prevention of cancer or disease, such as the plant sterols commonly added to dairy spreads to reduce cholesterol.

It is estaimated that 70 per cent of Australians consume foods, supplements or personal care products containing (or claiming to contain) bioactives and the global market is growing by more than eight per cent annually.

Supported by the $4,997,903 ARC grant over five years, Macquarie’s new ARC Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia’s Bioactives (FAAB) will bring together Deakin University, the University of SA and Western Sydney University with research universities in the UK, Germany and Brazil, and 14 respected Australian industry partners, to develop products of high molecular complexity that can relieve chronic and acute health problems.

Importantly, the Centre will also apply advanced methods to characterise the molecular identity of bioactives, providing scientific evidence for their positive impact on health, enabling consumers to make more informed choices when purchasing products with health benefit claims, and supporting the development of regulatory frameworks. 

Professor Alison Rodger (pictured)– who was recently made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science – will be Director of the training centre, supported by Partnerships Director Professor Anwar Sunna and Research Director Dr Alfonso Garcia-Bennett.

Macquarie’s Chief Investigators in the Centre are Dr Morten Andersen, Dr Amy Cain, Professor Mark Connor, Professor Gilles Guillemin, Professor Paul Haynes, Dr Heinrich Kroukamp, Distinguished Professor Nicolle Packer, Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen, Dr Fleur Ponton, Dr Sasha Tetu and Dr Yuling Wang.

Professor Rodger says she is delighted that Macquarie will be part of such a transformational change for the bioactives sector, and to be working with industry partners who are so passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of Australians.

“I am really excited to be working with such a great team to solve genuinely important problems,” she says. “I’m particularly pleased that we will be able to stimulate the creation of new high skilled jobs, including scientists trained by FAAB to translate molecular analytical science into the required knowhow for manufacturing new bioactives products.”

How do you think you would go if you had to summarise 100,000 words – the average length of a PhD thesis – in three minutes? Oh, and by the way, your audience probably doesn’t have any knowledge of your field, so you need to make it super simple. Oh, and could you also make it entertaining, please?

That’s the challenge of students participating in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which sees more than 900 universities in over 85 countries showcasing the best of their PhD research.

Last week, the 2020 Macquarie University 3MT Competition winner was announced by HDR Academic Director Professor Jennifer Cornish who was Chair of the live event. The prestigious judging panel included Professor Simon Handley, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Higher Degree Research Training and Partnerships), Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Professor Dominique Parrish, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching).

And boy did our students rise to the 3MT challenge.

First place winner Geraldine Sullivan from the Department of Molecular Sciences wowed the judges with her presentation on the fight against antibiotic resistance.

“It is a great honour to be recognised by the judges, who are well established in their careers and great researchers themselves,” says Geraldine.

“The competition improves your presentation skills and makes you think about your research in a new light. I used to get stage fright when I was younger, so I always take the opportunity to practice my presenting skills.”

Watch Geraldine’s winning presentation

Did you know we’re on a trajectory towards 10 million deaths worldwide per year (more than COVID-19 and cancer deaths combined) because of antimicrobial resistance? Geraldine explains how combining antibiotics could be the answer.

Congratulations to the other winners:

• Second place: Maryam Shahpasand, Department of Computing
  (Watch See the wolf in sheep’s clothing)
• Third place: Andres Vidal-Itriago, Department of Biomedical Sciences
  (Watch Who is wiring your memories?)
• People’s choice: Sumedha Prabhu, School of Engineering
  (Watch Kidney healthcare from home)

As part of their win, Macquarie’s 3MT finalists undertook a media communications masterclass with SBS World News presenter Anton Enus, with Geraldine receiving an additional 1:1 session with Anton, as well as professional videography support from Group Marketing to prepare her entry for the Asia-Pacific Final.

You can show your support for Geraldine by voting for her in the People’s Choice ballot on 1 October on the Asia-Pacific 3MT website.

Every month we celebrate some of the impressive achievements in the Macquarie community. Got something to share for next month? Tell us.

Macquarie’s seven Eureka Prize finalists

Congratulations to all of our finalists who had had outstanding success in their respective areas and who have been nominated in the Eureka Prizes. The Eureka Prizes reward excellence in the fields of research and innovation, leadership, science engagement and school science.

Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman and Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes (main photo) with the Weed Futures team have been named as finalists for the 2019 NSW Environment, Energy and Science (DPIE) Eureka Prize for Environmental Research.

Associate Professor Joanne Jamie, Associate Professor Subramanyam Vemulpad and Dr Ian Jamie, have been nominated for the 2019 Department of Industry, Innovation and Science Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion, along with Yaegl Aboriginal Elder Dr Uncle Ronald Heron, and Dr Danny Bedgood and Associate Professor Paul Prenzler from Charles Sturt University.

Professor Neil Saintilan of Macquarie University’s Department of Environmental Sciences has been shortlisted for the Eureka Prize for a second year running. In 2019 he has been shortlisted in Environmental Science, while in 2018 his work was recognised in the Mentoring of Young Scientists category. His success as a mentor is obvious from his latest nomination, which builds on the success of his former students. Three members of the team completed their PhD studies and postdoctoral research under Neil’s supervision.

Macquarie University Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Sophie Calabretto, is a finalist for the 2019 Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science. In 2017 Sophie was chosen as one of the ABC’s ‘Top 5 Under 40’ researchers, which gave her a platform to engage with the wider community.

In addition to her Eureka Award nomination (above), Professor Lesley Hughes has also been honoured with the 2019 Australian Museum Research Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.

Receiving her award in the Museum’s Long Gallery on 31 July, Professor Hughes spoke of her hope in the face of climate change.

Read Professor Hughes’ full speech >>

Congratulations to Dr Philippe Gilchrist and Associate Professor Melissa Norberg from the Department of Psychology who hosted a Visiting Scholar, UK PhD student Tess Langfield, in a specialist lab here on campus.

Tess won a USD$3000 award from the Health and Behaviour International Collaboration (HBIC) to investigate drinking behaviour using psychophysiological measures. This project builds upon her PhD research, which investigates the impact of glass shape on drinking behaviours for soft drinks.

Tess explains the project greatly benefited from Macquarie University’s state-of-the-art facilities and equipment (including a “bar laboratory”, situated in the MQ ‘Simulation Hub’, complete with a BIOPAC machine for measuring physiological responses).

The Department of Physics and Astronomy has received the Silver Pleiades Award from the Inclusion Diversity and Equity in Astronomy Chapter of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

The Pleiades Award recognises organisations in Australian astronomy that take active steps to advance the careers of women through focused programs and strive for sustained improvement in providing opportunities for women to achieve positions of seniority, influence and recognition.

In 2016 WiA broadened its aims to encompass wider issues of diversity. The overarching objective of the IDEA Chapter is to achieve an environment in all institutions associated with Australian astronomy that is welcoming and supportive of all academic staff, professional staff and students, regardless of gender and sexual identity, ethnic and cultural background, disability, age, family/carer responsibilities, political affiliation, and religious belief.

The Department received the Bronze award in this scheme in 2016.

Read our 2018 This Week story about the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s efforts to create a more inclusive culture >

Associate Professor Ronika Power has been named as the recipient of one of two Early Career Awards from the Union Académique Internationale – a global organisation of more than one hundred national and international academies from more than 60 countries across the world.

As part of the celebration of the Union’s Centenary in 2019, the Board created two awards of €6000 ($10,700 AUD) each for a period of two years (2020-2021) to scholars who qualify as Early Career Researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

“The project I will be undertaking under the auspices of this award is entitled: The Sentinels of Ħal Saflieni, Malta: Science Facts versus Science Fiction,” says Ronika.

“In close collaboration with Heritage Malta, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage Malta and colleagues from various international institutions, the project will carry out the first-ever interdisciplinary analyses of the remains of the only surviving individuals (<20 out of a prospective 7,000 people) excavated from the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a multi-level subterranean Neolithic (~4,000–2,500 BC) burial and ritual complex located in Paola, Malta.”

Congratulations to the LEAP UP Refugee Mentoring Program run by the Widening Participation Unit has been shortlisted for the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards under Equity and Opportunity.

The Awards are judged by an independent panel of eminent higher education veterans and this year will be held on 27 August at the Hilton Brisbane.

Alison is particularly passionate about supporting the career development of early career researchers and gender equity in STEM, serving on the department’s Women in Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences leadership group.

1) In a nutshell, my job is to…
Support my colleagues to achieve their potential. In practice this means a lot of talking and administration. I also try to find time to keep my research alive.

2) The question I hear most often in my work is…
“Can I do …?” or “Why can’t I do/have …?”

3) The thing I find most rewarding in my role is…
Seeing my colleagues achieve something where I can convince myself I’ve a played a key enabling role.

4) This year I want to…
Make my laboratory a constant hum of activity.

5) The bravest thing I’ve done is…
Contradicted my elders and betters – hopefully politely and positively!

6) A place that’s special to me is…
My garden and its bush outlook, with a stream just past the bottom of the garden.

7) My mother/father always told me…
“If you can’t remember it, it isn’t important.” While it’s transparently nonsense, it’s very comforting!

 8) I’m scared of…
Mice and any bigger rodents.

9) My hidden talent is…
I’m a fairly open person, so I’m not sure I have talents that are hidden. But following recent building work at home I now have an expanded list of non-talents, the latest being installing cornices!

10) A moment I’ll always remember is…
When I realised my father didn’t really understand logarithms and it would just irritate me if I ever asked him to help with my homework again!